Driving home from a customer last week, I caught a glimpse of a digital billboard—the kind that flashes eight different ads per minute. From a cost and aesthetic perspective, these backlit displays are a big step up from the old paperhanger versions.

Uncertainty often pushes manufacturers to slow down. Orders fluctuate, budgets tighten, and “wait and see” becomes the default strategy.

In several articles about challenges for tomorrow’s quality leaders, we’ve addressed how to plug the knowledge drain and effectively manage your company’s know-how. Your organizational structure and processes can be your worst enemy—or best asset.

They may seem simple, but SOPs (standard operating procedures) are surprisingly tricky. On the surface, they describe how a specific process is carried out at your organization. Pretty straightforward, right?

For today’s manufacturers, quality is no longer just a box to check; it has evolved into a strategic pillar central to company success.

With Labor Day coming around, here’s an article to celebrate the folks who usually get blamed for the quality problems.

Want to build your team? Get rid of the people who are on it. I don’t mean go about firing people in a flurry. Become what I call a “net exporter of talent.”

I’m exploring one of the most fascinating aspects of Heinz von Foerster’s work: his complete rejection of philosophical labels and -isms.

Global-scale events have tested the bounds of supply chain systems. The coronavirus, for example, made it clear how critical an efficient supply chain is for continuity and survival.

Let’s start with the argument every aspiring leader loves to have, even if they don’t say it out loud:  Specialist or generalist?  Depth or breadth?  That’s the fork in the road every ambitious leader eventually hits.